WHY I THINK JUAN GONZALEZ SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK JUAN GONZALEZ SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Almost all of the big power hitters of the 1990’s and early 2000’s are written off as potential cheaters, and Gonzalez is no exception. A lot of people dismiss this entire era (a terrible mistake no matter what happened) as “the steroid era”, an era which can be devoid of Hall of Famers. In my opinion, in order to rightly educate baseball fans and properly honor the game’s best players, each era should be represented fairly evenly (although, however, I have no tolerance for cheaters in the context of the Hall of Fame). But what about Gonzalez? Was he playing under the influence of illegal drugs? I think that there is good reason to doubt it. For one thing, Gonzalez’s career path is fairly normal for a Hall of Fame outfielder, with outstanding production for a while with a gradual decline at the end. He wasn’t a 30-homer man who suddenly hit 70 homers in his age 34 season. Gonzalez was far more consistent. Additionally, no evidence has really been related that Gonzalez may have been juiced. As far as I know, the only allegation against Gonzalez was a random accusation, which he denied. In the spirit of “innocent until proven guilty”, I feel comfortable including Gonzalez here. 

Juan Gonzalez was one of the best power hitters who ever lived. While his 434 homers suggest a very good career, his power numbers are best illustrated by his 6.62 home run percentage (the 15th highest of all time) and .561 career slugging percentage (18th). He had five seasons with 40 or more homers and eight with over 100 RBI’s. For every 162 games he played, Gonzalez averaged 42 home runs, 135 RBI’s, and 102 runs scored. Juan Gonzalez started his career with the Texas Rangers in 1989, hitting 9-for-60 at the age of 19. He had four homers in 25 games in 1990 and was a full time regular at the age of 21, hitting .264 with 27 homers and 102 RBI’s in 1991. Just entering his peak, Gonzalez led the Majors in homers in each of the next two seasons before being interrupted by the strike. In 1996, Gonzalez came back to hit .314 with 47 homers and 144 RBI’s, capturing the league MVP Award. In addition to his slugging, Gonzalez provided average defense at all three outfield positions, and occasionally took his turn at DH. He was a decent outfielder, known for his strong arm. After another strong offensive season in 1997, he repeated as the MVP in 1998 with a .318 mark and 157 RBI’s, including a record 101 ribbies in the first half. He reached his high water mark in batting in 1999 with a .326 mark and backed it up with 39 longballs. After the season, Gonzalez was traded to the Tigers, and didn’t produce at his usual pace (.289, 22 homers in 115 games). The Tigers made a deadly mistake in letting him go, as he had one of his biggest seasons with the Cleveland Indians in 2001 (.325-35-140). Gonzalez then spent a couple years back in Texas, producing one last big season in 2003 (70 RBI’s in 82 games). He hit .276 in limited action in ‘04 and played one game for the Indians in ‘05 before a season ending injury. The Cardinals invited Gonzalez to spring training in 2008, and Gonzalez performed well in those games, but didn’t make the regular season team. That marked the end of his MLB career, although he has taken part in Puerto Rican ball and the World Baseball Classic. 

Juan Gonzalez was a great power hitter, a two time MVP, and an adequate fielder. I think that one should look through Hall of Fame candidates from the 1990’s with caution, but Gonzalez would be a good choice for future induction. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,689 season high: 155 in 1992 

At Bats career: 6,556 season high: 606 in 1998 

Hits career: 1,936 season high: 193 in 1998 

Doubles career: 388 season high: 50 in 1998 led AL: 50 in 1998 

Triples career: 25 season high: 4 in 1994 

Home Runs career: 434 season high: 47 in 1996 led AL: 43 in 1992, 46 in 1993 

Runs career: 1,061 season high: 114 in 1999 

Runs Batted In career: 1,404 season high: 157 in 1998 led AL: 157 in 1998 

Stolen Bases career: 26 season high: 6 in 1994 

Walks career: 457 season high: 51 in 1999 

Strikeouts career: 1,273 season high: 143 in 1992 

Batting Average career: .295 season high: .326 in 1999 

On Base Percentage career: .343 season high: .378 in 1999 

Slugging Percentage career: .561 season high: .643 in 1996 led AL: .632 in 1993 

Total Bases career: 3,676 season high: 382 in 1998 

Sacrifice Hits career: 2 season high: 2 in 1989 

Fielding Percentage career: .983 season high: .991 in 1994 

Double Plays career: 19 season high: 3 in 1999 and 2001 

Putouts career: 2,595 season high: 379 in 1992 

Assists career: 91 season high: 10 in 2001 and 2003 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Juan Gone” and “Igor” 

-was a three time all-star (1993, 1998, and 2001) and a six time Silver Slugger 

-also finished fourth in the AL MVP Award voting in 1993, fifth in 2001, ninth in 1997, 13th in 1999, and 16th in 1992 

-won the Home Run Derby in 1993 

-won two career AL Player of the Month awards and five Player of the Week awards 

-slashed .290/.333/.742 with eight homers and 15 RBI’s in 15 career postseason games 

-hit a record five homers in the 1996 ALDS, a four game series 

-had the most RBI’s in the Majors from 1991 through 2001 (1,263) 

-three times had as many RBI as games played in a season (144 - 134 in 1996, 157 - 154 in 1998, 140 - 140 in 2001), and had 514 RBI’s in 511 games from 1995 through 1998 

-set the MLB record for RBI’s in the month of April (35) in 1998  

-had two 21-game hitting streaks in 1996 and a 15-game streak in 2001 

-had three career three homer games

-hit five home runs in three games in early 2003 

-hit his 300th career home run in his 1,096th game, the fewest in AL history 

-led the MLB with 16 sacrifice flies in 2001 

-topped the AL with an 8.58 home run percentage in 1993 

-ranks 48th in career home runs 

-also played 24 games as a pinch hitter and one as a pinch runner